Fan

ABSTRACT

Provided is a fan of a microwave oven. The fan, discharging air in two directions, cools a plurality of components. Thus, the components are cooled with more simple configuration.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a fan, and more particularly, to a fan configured to discharge air in two directions.

BACKGROUND ART

Fans are devices configured to discharge air in a predetermined direction using the rotation of a blower disposed in a housing However, such fans discharge air only in a single direction, thereby limiting the application thereof.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Technical Problem

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a fan adapted for more various applications.

Technical Solution

In one embodiment, a fan includes: a fan housing including at least one intake part and at least two discharge parts; and a rotatable blower in the fan housing the blower introducing air through the intake part and discharging the air through the discharge part, wherein minimum distances (D1)(D3) between an inner surface of the fan housing and an alter surface of the blower in upstream ends of the discharge parts in a rotation direction of the blower are greater than minimum distances (D2) (D4) between the inner surface of the fan housing and the outer surface of the blower in downstream ends of the discharge parts, and the minimum distance (D1)(D3) between the inner surface of the fan housing and the outer surface of the blower in the upstream end of one of the discharge parts in the rotation direction of the blower is greater than the minimum distance (D2)(D4) between the inner surface of the fan housing and the outer surface of the blower in the downstream end of another of the discharge parts adjacent in an opposite direction to the rotation direction of the blower.

In another embodiment, a fan includes: a fan housing including at least one intake part and at least two discharge parts; and a rotatable blower in the fan housing the blower introducing air through the intake part and discharging the air through the discharge part, wherein cross-sectional flow areas between an inner surface of the fan housing and an outer surface of the blower in upstream ends of the discharge parts in a rotation direction of the blower are greater than cross-sectional flow areas between the inner surface of the fan housing and the cuter surface of the blower in downstream ends of the discharge parts, and the cross-sectional flow area between the inner surface of the fan housing and the outer surface of the blower in the upstream end of one of the discharge parts in the rotation direction of the blower is greater than the cross-sectional flow area between the inner surface of the fan housing and the outer surface of the blower in the downstream end of another of the discharge parts adjacent in an opposite direction to the rotation direction of the blower.

Advantageous Effects

According to embodiments, provided is a fan adapted for more various applications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a fan according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view according to an embodiment.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, a fan 100 according to an embodiment will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the fan 100 according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view according to the embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1, the fan 100 includes a fan housing 110 and a blower 120. The fan housing 110 includes an intake part 111, a first discharge part 113, and a second discharge part 115. The blower 120 is rotatable in the fan housing 110 and radially discharges axially introduced air.

The intake part 111 is provided to one surface or two surfaces of the fan housing 110, and air is introduced through the intake part 111. The first discharge part 113 and the second discharge part 115 are provided to the cuter surface of the fan housing 110 in a manner where the first discharge part 113 and the second discharge part 115 are spaced a predetermined angle from each other. Thus, the fan 100 may be referred to as a two- way fan adapted to discharge air in different directions from each other through the first discharge part 113 and the second discharge part 115.

Referring to FIG. 2, three conditions of the first discharge part 113 and the second discharge part 115 for the fan 100 to discharge air in two ways will now be described.

(1) In a rotation direction of the blower, i.e., in a flow direction of air, minimum distances D1 and D3 between the inner surface of the fan housing and the cuter surface of the blower in upstream ends of the first and second discharge parts are required to be greater than minimum distances D2 and D4 between the inner surface of the fan housing and the outer surface of the blower in downstream ends of the first and second discharge parts, respectively.

(2) In the rotation direction of the blower, the minimum distance D1 or D3 between the inner surface of the fan housing and the outer surface of the blower in the upstream end of the first or second discharge part is required to be greater than the minimum distance D4 or D2 between the inner surface of the fan housing and the outer surface of the blower in the downstream end of the second or first discharge part, respectively.

(3) In the rotation direction of the blower, a central angle A4 between the upstream end of the first discharge part and the downstream end the second discharge part is required to be equal or more than a central angle A1 of the first discharge part with respect to the rotation center of the blower, and a central angle A2 between the downstream end of the first discharge part and the upstream end of the second discharge part is required to be equal or more than a central angle A3 of the second discharge part with respect to the rotation center of the blower.

To sum up, the first discharge part 113 and the second discharge part 115 mist satisfy the below inequalities.

(1) D1>D2, and D3>D4

(2) D1>D4, and D3>D2

(3) A4>=A1, and A2>=A3

The above conditions (1) and (2) must be satisfied to discharge air through the first discharge part 113 and the second discharge part 115. The condition (3) is substantially satisfied to secure the amount of air through the first discharge part 113 and the second discharge part 115.

The ratio of air discharged through the first discharge part 113 and the second discharge part 115 is controlled by changing various conditions. That is, the ratio of air discharged through the first discharge part 113 and the second discharge part 115 is controlled by controlling the central angle A4 between the upstream end of the first discharge part 113 and the downstream end of the second discharge part 115, or the central angle A2 between the downstream end of the first discharge part 113 and the upstream end of the second discharge part 115. The ratio in the amount of air discharged through the first discharge part 113 and the second discharge part 115 is substantially controlled by controlling the area of the first discharge part 113 or the area of the second discharge part 115. The ratio in the amount of air discharged through the first discharge part 113 and the second discharge part 115 is controlled by controlling a difference in the minimum distances between the upstream end and the downstream end of the first discharge part 113, and the outer surface of the blower 120, and/or by controlling a difference in the minimum distances between the upstream end and the downstream end of the second discharge part 115, and the cuter surface of the blower 120. Also, the ratio in the amount of air through the first discharge part 113 and the second discharge part 115 is controlled by controlling a difference in the minimum distances between the upstream end of the first discharge part 113 and the downstream end of the second discharge part 115, and the cuter surface of the blower 120, and/or by controlling a difference in the minimum distances between the upstream end of the second discharge part 115 and the downstream end of the first discharge part 113, and the cuter surface of the blower 120.

Hereinafter, airflow of the fan will now be described according to this embodiment.

When the fan 100 is driven, a portion of the air introduced to the intake part 111 is discharged through the discharge part 113, and the rest is discharged through the second discharge part 115. Substantially, the more amount of air is discharged through the discharge part 113 than thrash the second discharge part 115.

The ratio in the amount of air discharged through the first discharge part 113 and the second discharge part 115 can be controlled by changing various conditions of the fan 100. For example, when the central angle A4 between the upstream end of the first discharge part 113 and the downstream end of the second discharge part 115 is increased relative to the central angle A2 between the downstream end of the first discharge part 113 and the upstream end of the second discharge part 115, the ratio of the air discharged through the first discharge part 113 to the air discharged through the first discharge part 113 and the second discharge part 115 is increased. In addition, the air discharged through the second discharge part 115 is increased relative to the air discharged through the first discharge part 113, by relatively reducing the area of the first discharge part 113. The minimum distances between the upstream end and the downstream end of the first discharge part 113, and the outer surface of the blower 120 are increased, the ratio of the air discharged through the first discharge part 113 to the entire air discharged through the first discharge part 113 and the second discharge part 115 is increased. On the contrary, the minimum distances between the upstream end and the downstream end of the first discharge part 113, and the outer surface of the blower 120 are decreased, the ratio of the air discharged through the first discharge part 113 to the entire air discharged through the first discharge part 113 and the second discharge part 115 is decreased. In addition, when the difference in the minimum distances between the upstream end of the second discharge part 115 and the downstream end of the first discharge part 113, and the cuter surface of the blower 120 is decreased relative to the difference in the minimum distances between the upstream end of the first discharge part 113 and the downstream end of the second discharge part 115, and the cuter surface of the blower 120, the ratio of the air discharged through the second discharge part 115 to the air discharged through the first discharge part 113 and the second discharge part 115 is relatively increased.

Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number of illustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled in the art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles of this disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modifications are possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subject combination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawings and the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications in the component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also be apparent to those skilled in the art.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The single fan according to the embodiments discharges air in the two directions. Thus, the single fan simultaneously cools components disposed at various positions, thereby relatively reducing the number of parts used to cool the component, and even when the number of fans to be used is limited, the positions of parts can be varied. 

1. A fan comprising: a fan housing including at least one intake part and at least two discharge parts; and a rotatable blower in the fan housing the blower introducing air through the intake part and discharging the air through the discharge part, wherein minimum distances (D1)(D3) between an inner surface of the fan housing and an cuter surface of the blower in upstream ends of the discharge parts in a rotation direction of the blower are greater than minimum distances (D2) (D4) between the inner surface of the fan housing and the alter surface of the blower in downstream ends of the discharge parts, and the minimum distance (D1)(D3) between the inner surface of the fan housing and the cuter surface of the blower in the upstream end of one of the discharge parts in the rotation direction of the blower is greater than the minimum distance (D2)(D4) between the inner surface of the fan housing and the cuter surface of the blower in the downstream end of another of the discharge parts adjacent in an opposite direction to the rotation direction of the blower.
 2. The fan according to claim 1, wherein a central angle (A1)(A3) of one of the discharge parts in the rotation direction of the blower with respect to a rotation center of the blower is equal or less than a central angle (A4)(A2) between the upstream end of the selected discharge part and the downstream end of another of the discharge parts adjacent in the opposite direction to the rotation direction of the blower.
 3. The fan according to claim 1, wherein a ratio of air discharged through the discharge parts is controlled by controlling a difference in the minimum distances between the inner surface of the fan housing and the outer surface of the blower in the upstream ends or the downstream ends of the discharge parts.
 4. The fan according to claim 1, wherein a ratio of air discharged through the discharge parts is controlled by controlling a difference between the minimum distance between the inner surface of the fan housing and the cuter surface of the blower in the downstream end of one of the discharge parts, and the minimum distance between the inner surface of the fan housing and the outer surface of the blower in the upstream end of another of the discharge parts adjacent in the opposite direction to the rotation direction of the blower.
 5. The fan according to claim 1, wherein a ratio of air discharged through the discharge parts is controlled by controlling a central angle of one of the discharge parts in the rotation direction of the blower with respect to a rotation center of the blower.
 6. The fan according to claim 1, wherein a ratio of air discharged through the discharge parts is controlled by controlling a central angle between the upstream end of one of the discharge parts and the downstream end of another of the discharge parts adjacent in the opposite direction to the rotation direction of the blower.
 7. A fan comprising: a fan housing including at least one intake part and at least two discharge parts; and a rotatable blower in the fan housing the blower introducing air through the intake part and discharging the air through the discharge part, wherein cross-sectional flow areas between an inner surface of the fan housing and an cuter surface of the blower in upstream ends of the discharge parts in a rotation direction of the blower are greater than cross-sectional flow areas between the inner surface of the fan housing and the outer surface of the blower in downstream ends of the discharge parts, and the cross-sectional flow area between the inner surface of the fan housing and the outer surface of the blower in the upstream end of one of the discharge parts in the rotation direction of the blower is greater than the cross-sectional flow area between the inner surface of the fan housing and the outer surface of the blower in the downstream end of another of the discharge parts adjacent in an opposite direction to the rotation direction of the blower.
 8. The fan according to claim 7, wherein a central angle (A1)(A3) of one of the discharge parts in the rotation direction of the blower with respect to a rotation center of the blower is equal or less than a central angle (A4)(A2) between the upstream end of the selected discharge part and the downstream end of another of the discharge parts adjacent in the opposite direction to the rotation direction of the blower.
 9. The fan according to claim 7, wherein a ratio of air discharged through the discharge parts is controlled by controlling a difference in the cross-sectional flow areas between the inner surface of the fan housing and the outer surface of the blower in the upstream ends or the downstream ends of the discharge parts.
 10. The fan according to claim 7, wherein a ratio of air discharged through the discharge parts is controlled by controlling a difference between the cross-sectional flow area between the inner surface of the fan housing and the cuter surface of the blower in the downstream end of one of the discharge parts, and the cross-sectional flow area between the inner surface of the fan housing and the cuter surface of the blower in the upstream end of another of the discharge parts adjacent in the opposite direction to the rotation direction of the blower.
 11. The fan according to claim 7, wherein a ratio of air discharged thrash the discharge parts is controlled by controlling a central angle of one of the discharge parts in the rotation direction of the blower with respect to a rotation center of the blower.
 12. The fan according to claim 7, wherein a ratio of air discharged through the discharge parts is controlled by controlling a central angle between the upstream end of one of the discharge parts and the downstream end of another of the discharge parts adjacent in the opposite direction to the rotation direction of the blower. 